Daily Brief
November 2, 2026
Monday
🏛️ Government
It's now too late to mail early ballots; three emergency voting sites open Monday. Pima County election officials are opening three emergency voting sites Monday, and officials say it is too late to mail back an early ballot. Ballots must be in the Pima County Recorder's Office's possession by 7 p.m. Tuesday to be counted. Voters can instead return ballots at an emergency site Monday, at any of the county's 126 vote centers on Election Day, or at one of seven drop boxes. As we reported Saturday, vote centers are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voters who did not receive a mailed ballot can get one at an emergency site Monday or at any vote center Tuesday, according to the Tucson Sentinel.
🚨 Public Safety
Sunday storm brings dozens of water rescues across Pima County. As we reported Sunday, the Halloween weekend storm set rain records. The Pima County Sheriff's Department said it had responded to 16 river rescues by 3 p.m. Sunday, as motorists got stuck trying to cross flooded roads and washes, and a spokeswoman said all were rescued without injury. The Tucson Fire Department reported 12 water rescues across the greater Tucson area, with no injuries. TFD crews handled seven, including at South Yale Drive and East Fordham Drive, Calle Marte and Avenida Planeta, and the Alamo Wash at South Birch Avenue. East Sahuarita Road and North Davidson Road were closed by flooding. The Sheriff's Department said crews were clearing boulders that fell near Windy Point on the Catalina Highway, which stayed open. The area near Sabino Canyon got nearly 3.5 inches of rain in the 24 hours ending Sunday, KVOA reported, citing the National Weather Service.
Arizona Daily Star, KGUN 9, KVOA, KVOA, KOLD
Santa Cruz River flooding near Marana. A Flood Warning is in effect until 3 a.m. Tuesday for the Santa Cruz River and Greene Wash between Marana and Sunland Gin Road in Pinal County, according to the Arizona Daily Star and KOLD. The Star reported the river is at minor flood stage in Marana, with water expected to keep rising downstream. Local law enforcement reported flooding at Trico Road near the river. The Sheriff's Department lists road closures at 520-351-3351.
Savannah Guthrie renews plea nine months after mother's disappearance. Sunday marked nine months since 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson home. Her daughter, NBC "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie, posted an appeal on Instagram asking anyone with information to come forward. She wrote that a reward is still available.
🏗️ Development & Business
Mercy Care grants $100,000 to TMC Health Foundation for 911 outreach program. The Arizona health nonprofit's grant will fund the Tucson Collaborative Community Care (TC-3) program. TC-3 is a partnership between TMC and the Tucson Fire Department that identifies frequent users of the 911 system and connects them with resources, according to Inside Tucson Business.
Tucson company's blood test screens for more than 60 cancers. Tucson-based Precision Epigenomics has developed EPISEEK-MCED, a multicancer early detection blood test. President and CEO Mark Nelson told Inside Tucson Business the test analyzes DNA methylation patterns to identify signals associated with more than 60 cancer types. Samples are processed at the company's clinical laboratory.
Tohono Chul unveils master plan. The Oro Valley park has a new master plan, "A Sonoran Oasis," led by board vice chair Gayle Mateer. It addresses visitors who arrive at the Paseo del Norte parking lot and can't find the gardens, shops or museum. The park also held a private ribbon-cutting Oct. 3 for its new Adaptive Arboretum, a climate-resilient garden, Inside Tucson Business reported.
Inside Tucson Business, Inside Tucson Business
🎉 Community & Events
New play on self-deportation opens Nov. 5. Tucson theater company Teatro Dignidad will open "Los Que Regresan" ("those who return") at a cultural center on Tucson's south side. The bilingual play follows an immigrant couple who take their U.S.-citizen children back to Mexico under threat of detention and deportation, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
NASA telescope named for Tucson-raised astrophysicist nears its end. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere in the coming days, the Arizona Daily Star reported. Gehrels grew up in Tucson and graduated from Catalina High School and the University of Arizona. Since 2004, the telescope has cataloged nearly 2,000 gamma-ray bursts.
📢 What Your Officials Are Saying
Sen. Mark Kelly (U.S. senator). In a Bluesky post Monday, Kelly urged people to vote, comparing democracy to the second law of thermodynamics: things "will" fall apart "unless someone does the work."
Sen. Mark Kelly (U.S. senator). Kelly posted from a get-out-the-vote event in Phoenix's Maryvale neighborhood, urging voters who haven't voted to make a plan.
Neither campaign in the governor's race (Katie Hobbs, Andy Biggs) nor in the CD6 race (JoAnna Mendoza, Juan Ciscomani) posted in the past 48 hours.
🌵 The Desert Today
Heat: Oct. 31 high 71° (normal 82°, record 93°), low 61°. 77 days at or above 100° so far this year. Water: Lake Mead 1,038.8 ft on Oct. 31, down 18.7 ft in a year. Sky: air quality 32 (good), highest reading ozone. UV index 1. Power: TEP demand peaked at 1,678 MW on Oct. 30, solar peak 158 MW.
Weather & Water: the season against prior years, and the long record
⛈️ Weather — Tucson
Leftover showers end early this morning; the Flood Watch expired at 5 a.m.
Today: Sunny, high near 70, west-northwest wind 1 to 6 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, low around 47, north wind 1 to 5 mph.
Tuesday (Election Day): Sunny, high near 77, east wind around 3 mph.
Outlook: Dry, sunny weather settles in for the rest of the week. Highs reach 78 Wednesday and 79 Thursday, with overnight lows near 50. Washes may keep running for a while after the weekend's heavy rain.
NWS Tucson Forecast API
This brief was generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 from a review of 15 of 48 local sources fetched, at 6:02 AM MST on November 2, 2026, and published without human review. Every item links to its source. Read more about how this is made.
Comments
Join the conversation on Bluesky